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Gabriel Lorca (mirror)
}} | affiliation = Imperial Federation Starfleet | rank = Captain | occupation = officer Commanding officer | status = Active | died = | datestatus = 2250s | actor = Jason Isaacs }} |2257|Vaulting Ambition}} Captain Gabriel Lorca was a male Imperial officer who lived in the mirror universe during the mid-23rd century. While in command of the , he attempted an unsuccessful coup against Emperor . He became a fugitive wanted by the Terran Empire for treason and the murder of , captain of the . He escaped into a parallel universe and took the identity of his counterpart, a Federation Starfleet officer. In that capacity, he was appointed as the commanding officer on board the in 2256. ( ) Using the Discovery and continuing his masquerade, he recruited the prime universe Michael Burnham and manipulated his way back to the mirror universe. Burnham posed as her mirror universe counterpart, retaking command of the Shenzhou while bringing Lorca aboard as a "prisoner", claiming she had faked her death in order to hunt him down. Lorca had presented this plan to Burnham and the rest of the Discovery crew as a ruse to obtain intelligence that might help the crew of the Discovery return to their own reality. ( ) His true objective, however, was to use Burnham to access the Emperor's ship. ( ) Personal life Lorca claimed that, in the 22nd century, his family ran a business that produced fortune cookies. He was in possession of at least one tribble, which he kept on his desk in his ready room. ( ) Starfleet career Commanding officer of the ISS Buran At some point prior to 2256, Lorca was assigned as the captain of the . His ship was later destroyed after he made an attempt to assassinate , leaving him a wanted man. Sometime later, he managed to make his way to a parallel universe. ( ) He later claimed that in 2256, during a battle in the , that he destroyed the rather than allow the ship's crew to be captured by the Klingons. He claimed that he was the only survivor from the Buran, but the vessel's destruction injured his eyes, causing him to have to adjust to light change slowly from then on, when in reality his sensitivity to light was due to him being from a different universe. The fact that he appeared to have been the only survivor caused him to get a negative reputation among other Starfleet personnel, as typically captains were expected to go down with their ships. ( ) Commanding officer of the USS Discovery Lorca was subsequently given command of the . Under his command, the Discovery rescued Michael Burnham and other prisoners after their prison shuttle was nearly destroyed by Species GS54, a species that fed on electricity. It was later revealed that the rescue was not by chance, as Lorca wished to recruit Burnham per Starfleet Regulation 13982 to aid him in winning the war. ( ). Under his command, Discovery was able to destroy the Klingon Ship of the Dead with a barrage of photon torpedoes after strategically placing two sensors on the ship, and performing one hundred and thirty-three spore jumps to collect enough data to devise an algorithm to crack the Klingon's cloaking frequency. After the victory, Discovery was ordered back to Starbase 46. However, for undetermined reasons, Lorca performed an override on his console before the spore jump that sent Discovery into unknown space surrounded by starship debris. It was determined that they had jumped into the mirror universe, where they soon discovered that the Lorca of the mirror universe had been a fugitive. ( ) It was later discovered that Gabriel had needed Burnham as part of his plan to gain entry to Emperor 's ship, the . The mirror universe Burnham had been the Emperor's adopted daughter. ( ) Relationships Friendship Michael Burnham Philippa Georgiou described Lorca to be a father figure to Burnham during her childhood. When Burnham reached adulthood, the relationship went beyond mentorship as result of Lorca's "grooming". ( ) Katrina Cornwell While acting as the captain of the Discovery, Lorca assumed a friendship and a sexual relationship with Katrina Cornwell, despite their differences in ranks. However, he chose to allow her on a mission he knew would be a trap when she made the call to declare him unfit for command, bringing the risk of his exposure as an impostor. ( ) Enemies Harcourt Fenton Mudd Lorca met Harcourt Fenton Mudd of the prime universe in 2256 aboard a Klingon prison ship. When Lorca escaped the ship, he left Mudd behind for giving information about their conversations to the Klingons. Lorca later encountered Mudd as he attempted to take over the Discovery. However, with the help of his crew, Lorca was able to defeat Mudd and return him to his wife Stella and her father. ( ) Key dates *2250s–2256: Commanding officer of the ISS Buran. After it was destroyed, he found a way to a parallel universe and later claimed to have destroyed the USS Buran to prevent his crew from falling into Klingon hands and that he was the only survivor. He also claimed that this caused permanent damage to his eyes, leaving him with lasting photosensitivity - in actuality, a physiological trait of Terrans. *2256 **Appointed captain of the USS Discovery. **Lead the Discovery to victory against the Klingons during the Attack on Corvan II. **Returning from a conference, his shuttle was attacked and he was captured by a Klingon boarding party. After being tortured, he orchestrated an escape with the help of Lieutenant Ash Tyler. Using a stolen Klingon shuttle, both made it to the Discovery, which had arrived to mount a rescue. *2250s **Lead the Discovery to victory against , destroying the Sarcophagus along with him. **Ended up in the mirror universe after the Discovery s spore drive appeared to malfunction during a jump, though this was a part of his plan. Manipulated the Discovery crew to confront and was imprisoned on her ship, though he soon escaped. Memorable quotes "No matter how deep in space you are, always feel like you can see home. Don't you think? Maybe it's just me. Forgive the lighting. The lack thereof. A recent battle injury. There's nothing they can do if I want to keep my own eyes, and I do. I have to suffer light change slowly. I like to think it makes me mysterious. No?" :- Gabriel Lorca s introductory words to Michael Burnham ( ) "Captain Gabriel Lorca. Welcome to ''Discovery." :- Gabriel Lorca, welcoming Michael Burnham to Discovery ( ) "Until your vessel's repaired, you'll be assigned to quarters and put to work. I'm not a chauffeur. There's no free rides on my ship. You were once a Starfleet officer. I will use you, or anything else I can, to achieve my mission." :- Gabriel Lorca, to Michael Burnham ( ) "We are creating a new way to fly." :- Gabriel Lorca, explaining his mission to Michael Burnham ( ) "Hold tight. Blink: you're in Ilari. Blink: the moons of Andoria. Blink: you missed Romulus. All those planets, all those places, all those species seen and yet to be seen. And you're home like it never happened." :- Gabriel Lorca, showing Michael Burnham the spore drive ( ) "Universal law is for lackeys. Context... is for kings." :- Gabriel Lorca to Michael Burnham ( ) "So, what's it to be, Michael? What's in your future? What do you wish for? Atonement? Redemption? Maybe... the assurance that the captain you lost didn't die in vain? You helped start a war. Don't you want to help me end it?" :- Gabriel Lorca, to Michael Burnham about her future ( ) "Let's send our Klingon friends a message they won't forget." :- Gabriel Lorca, before the USS Discovery destroys multiple Klingon ships ( ) "We were ambushed, and I did... escape. But I didn't let my crew die. I blew them up. I knew what awaited them on Qo'noS – degradation, torture, slow, public death. It's the Klingon way. To spread terror. Not my crew. Not on my watch." :- Gabriel Lorca, regarding the fate of the USS Buran ( ) "Your eyes... that happened when you destroyed the ''Buran, didn't it?" "''We choose our own pain. Mine helps me remember." : - Ash Tyler and Gabriel Lorca on Lorca's eye injury ( ) "I can't leave Starfleet's most powerful weapon in the hands of a broken man." "Don't take my ship away from me. She's all I've got. Please, I'm begging you." : - Katrina Cornwell and Gabriel Lorca on Lorca's ability to command the USS Discovery ( ) "We are about to face the most difficult challenge we have ever attempted. Today, we stare down the bow of the Ship of the Dead, the very same ship that took thousands of our own at the Battle of the Binary Stars. When I took command of this vessel, you were a crew of polite scientists. Now, I look at you. You are fierce warriors all. No other Federation vessel would have a chance of pulling this off. Just us. Because mark my words: you will look back proudly and tell the world you were there the day the USS ''Discovery saved Pahvo and ended the Klingon War." :- '''Gabriel Lorca', addressing the crew of the USS Discovery ( ) "Mr Rhys, could I trouble you to fire at something?" - Gabriel Lorca, to the weapons officer during the battle at Pahvo (DIS: "Into the Forest I Go") Catchphrases "Hold tight." :- His way of telling his crew to get ready ( ) "Go." :- His way of ordering something done ( ) Appendices Appearances * ** (First appearance) ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Background information Gabriel Lorca was played by Jason Isaacs. For his first ten appearances, it was assumed that he was native to the prime universe. In , it was revealed that the prime Lorca had been replaced by his mirror universe counterpart sometime before . Holding in remarkably high esteem, Jason Isaacs' initial reaction to being asked to appear in Star Trek: Discovery was to turn down the offer, adamant that he didn't want to participate in a horribly diluted version of the series that he respected so much. "But then," he continued, "I set up a Skype, a slightly reluctant Skype, with these guys, and they had a great story to tell. They had a great character to play. And so, I shrugged off any of the yolk ''sic of the past and just jumped in to play this, to do this story." The character played by Jason Isaacs coincidentally carries a very similar name to another character featured on an episode of '' – "Gavriel Lorca" ("Gavriel" equating to "Gabriel" in the Hebrew language). Isaacs portrayed the evil Immortal Zachary Blaine in a first-season episode of that same television series. On , Captain Lorca, in collaboration with the dance troupe Diversity, switched on the Blackpool Illuminations, the start of that year's annual festival of lights in Blackpool, UK. This was the first time Star Trek was involved in the highly celebrated switching-on ceremony. External links * * * Category:Humans Category:Starfleet personnel (mirror) Category:USS Discovery personnel Category:Starfleet command personnel Category:Starfleet captains